The conventional rigging used to attach a so-called "western" saddle, or other type of saddle having a rigid tree, to an equine such as a horse, mule, donkey or burro, can often produce painful discomfort on the inside of the knees of short adult and juvenile riders. This problem arises because of the vertical location of the rigging ring or the rigging plate used in a conventional saddle. In the case of a rigging ring, that location is determined by the length of the support straps that affix the rigging ring to the saddle, and is conventionally either just below the skirt, or perhaps somewhat higher, so that the middle of the ring is approximately even with the bottom of the skirt. In the case of a rigging plate, a portion of the skirt is replaced with an apertured metal plate encased in the rest of the skirt. In either arrangement the cinch portion of the rigging (i.e., the wide belt of material, which frequently is a string girth, that passes under the animal's rib cage) is attached to the upper portion of the saddle with various types of straps called latigos, billets or half-breeds.
Rigging rings and rigging plates are unyielding rigid structures, and the attaching of the latigo or billet creates an increase in thickness, which in conjunction with the rigidity of the rigging ring or rigging plate, is a source of discomfort when repeatedly contacted by the knee of the rider. Such uncomfortable contact results if the leg of the rider is not long enough to let the rider's knee extend beyond the location of the rigging ring or rigging plate. The discomfort results even in those cases where the fender associated with the stirrups is wide enough to cover the rigging ring or rigging plate. The problem is that the attachment is sufficiently rigid and bulky that it may still be felt through the fender. Repeated contact by the knee of a short rider results in eventual discomfort that can in a short time become quite painful.
What is true for the rider is also true for the animal. And while some animals are less sensitive to such irritation than others, in other animals there may occur bruising, and in extreme cases, even scarring, from the pressure caused by the rigging and from the additional pressure caused by the rider's knee against the rigging.
There has been an attempt to avoid this problem of rigging induced discomfort, in a western style saddle, by using an "English" style rigging. In this arrangement a strap extends through the entire saddle, passing over the tree and under the seat. The two ends of this strap extend low enough below the jockey (or perhaps even below the skirt) to be attached to the rest of the rigging. The problem with this approach is that it prevents the use of a western style of mounting the stirrups. A western style of stirrup mounting attaches the stirrups to the tree in a location that is now covered by this English style rigging strap. As a result, it becomes necessary to shift the mounting location of the stirrups forward. The forward location is very close to the forward end of the rigid load spreading bars (the "side pieces" of the tree, as it were) within the saddle. Thus, any downward force applied to this point (as communicated by the stirrups when the rider is leaning forward or standing) is not distributed over the length of each bar. Instead, it is felt in its entirety at that forward location. This puts additional pressure on the horse at a place in its anatonomy that already experiences a lot of pressure to begin with. Experience has shown that this English style of rigging and stirrup mounting cannot be used with some horses.
There is yet another reason why the solution set out in the preceding paragraph is less than ideal. Even if mounting the stirrups in the forward mounting location were free of the problem of undistributed extra pressure, it would still be the case that it is better for the overall balance of the rider to leave the stirrups attached in their traditional location for a western saddle. Thus, what is desired is a new way of rigging a western style saddle that does not disturb the mounting position for the fenders and stirrups.